JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With an extended tax-free holiday for school supplies this year, shoppers can save on back-to-school items like clothes, shoes, notebooks, pencils and some electronics from Friday to Tuesday.
News4Jax went shopping at Office Depot to show parents what they can expect to spend on school supplies.
Stores, including Office Depot, have made it easy for school supply shoppers by providing lists of what's required for local schools in the area.
Although 7% might not sound like a lot off a purchase, it helps a lot when buying big items.
Cart comparison
We shopped for common school supplies to compare prices at several retailers in Jacksonville.
Dixon brand pencils (price per pencil)
Office Depot: 22 cents
Target: 21 cents
Walmart: 19 cents
Walgreens: 15 cents with current deal
Basic solid-colored binder
Office Depot: $9
Target: $6.99
Walmart: $6.15
Walgreens: $7 ($3.50 with buy one get one free offer)
"When you buy like a computer, like we have a great HP-Envy computer here, for $749, so you'd be basically saving the tax off that, 7%, so that's over $50. It would be like $52, $53 dollars in tax savings,” Office Depot manager Nick Battista said.
The National Retail Federation’s latest back-to-school survey says parents with kids in elementary through high school should expect to spend $696.70 on back-to-school necessities.
Parents whose children are in college should expect to spend $976.78.
The tax-free holiday that ends next Tuesday saves shoppers sales tax on any school supply item under $15, computers or laptops under $1,000, and clothing items under $60. Backpacks and shoes are both considered clothing items.